


Dreaming

by doodlingcubes



Category: Owlboy (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Spoilers, listen ive been thinking about this for hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 07:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18245090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodlingcubes/pseuds/doodlingcubes
Summary: Which is real? And which is just a bad dream?





	Dreaming

There was so much noise.

 

Shouting, pulsing, ringing in his ears. Otus’ head pounded; he fought to even keep his eyes open. The searing pain that came with whatever the relics had done causing every movement to be so much harder than it should have been.

 

Solus was yelling to him. He couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he could guess. The others were shouting and grunting in exertion. A glance back told him why; all three of his friends were fighting to keep Molstrom from moving forwards.

 

He had to move.

 

Otus struggled, planting one hand against the ground and pulling himself towards the totem. His other hand came forwards as one foot braces against the floor and pushed him a little further. He crawled, slowly and painfully, towards the totem that was mere inches from falling away, costing them their chance.

 

He tried not to flinch as Geddy and Alphonse suddenly flew past him, barely catching themselves before they landed too hard on the floor. The second they had their bearings, they tore straight back to Molstrom, barely sparing glances his way as they passed. Otus clenched his fists, and forced himself to his knees.

 

As he reached the totem, he used it to pull himself to his feet, then started pushing the bottom section around into place. The shouts of the others were going between incoherent and too loud. He did his best to ignore it.

 

The bottom section clicked into place. For a moment, the totem glowed, as if considering the action. It then pulsed, knocking Otus off his feet entirely. He struggled up again, feeling both weaker and stronger, and moved to the next section. It occurred much the same as the first, as did the top.

 

When the top piece clicked into place, however, the totem glowed much brighter. The wind picked up, as if coming from the floor, setting Otus off balance in the air. He lowered himself, trying not to fall; almost instantly, a second gust came right at him, knocking him out of the air. He heard boots skid behind him, the others sliding across the room, away from him.

 

With a flash, a cold, bright light enveloped him, and Otus clenched his eyes shut. His energy was draining, all his strength used up and sleep becoming much more of an ideal. The light faded as quickly as it appeared, and Otus pried his eyes open to peer at the blurry totem.

 

A ball of light shot out, and everything vanished into a dark silence.

 

* * *

 

 

“Otus!”

 

Otus shot up in bed, startled awake by both his name being called and his dream. He gripped the blanket under his hands, breathing steadying quickly as he fought off the shaking in his arms.

 

Wait…

 

He looked down, finding his hands pressed into a bed. His bed. The blanket was soft, freshly washed. Familiar.

 

“Otus?” The voice sounded again, below him. “Your friends are outside, sleepyhead!”

 

He blinked, glancing off the side of the loft. He couldn’t see the source of the voice, but it was so familiar he knew exactly who it was regardless. He hopped out of bed, disregarding his confusion he felt and pulling his boots, trinket belt, and gauntlets on with ease before clipping his cloak quickly over his shoulders. He ran his fingers through his hair once before dropping down to the first floor.

 

“There you are,” he turned to see his mother, standing at the stove with kettle in hand. She nodded to the door behind him. “They’ve been waiting. Be back by dinner, yeah?”

 

Otus nodded, giving her what was originally meant to be a quick hug, but his hold lingered a little longer as his dream flashed through his head again. She pat him on the back, giving him a quick peck atop the head. With that, he released her, waving goodbye as he exited the house.

 

“ _Finally_ !” He blinked in surprise as Fib gave a sigh of fake exasperation. “We’ve been waiting for you _forever_ , Otus!”

 

“It’s only been a few minutes,” Solus pointed out. She stuck her tongue out.

 

“It felt like forever,” she insisted. Solus rolled his eyes while Bonacci snickered.

 

“You gotta stop sleeping in on the weekends, dude,” Bonacci noted. “We only get so much time outta classes.” Otus shrugged sheepishly.

 

Fib bounced on her toes. “C’mon! Remember? Geddy said he had today off ‘n was gonna show us some new shop in Advent!” Otus perked up, nodding excitedly at the activity he didn’t even begin to recall.

 

Without warning, Fib shot into the air. “Race ya to the ferry!”

 

“Hey, no fair!” Bonacci took off after her. Solus and Otus shared an amused glance before following their friends.

 

Fib won, to no one’s surprise. She was grinning proudly in response to Bonacci’s grumbling of unfairness when Otus and Solus reached the ferry docks. He was muttering about air resistance or something as they landed, but neither payed much mind to it as the bell rang out, indicating an arrival of a ferry. The little group quickly made their way to the furthest dock, weaving past the disembarking passengers and slipping easily up to the ferryman.

 

“‘Ey, it’s the owlkids!” The ferryman greeted. They waved as they approached. “Goin’ to Advent?”

 

“Yup!” Bonacci chirped.

 

The ferryman chuckled, gesturing to the boarding plank. “Alright! On you go, find some seats.”

 

They boarded the ferry, finding seats near the railing and waiting as a handful of others also boarded. Fib, Bonacci, and Solus were chattering idly about some weird bug Fib claimed to have seen in Strato once while Otus was watching below them, spotting Mandolyn and Bomboman discussing something near their homes while the Professor was taking his morning walk.

 

“Otus, what d’you think?” His attention was brought back to his friends as his name was said. “Can a bug exist as both a bug and a plant?”

 

Otus considered this a moment, then shrugged. Before Fib or Bonacci could complain about his answer, the ferry bell rang out, meaning they were about to embark. He and Fib gripped the railing and looked over the side as the ferry began to move, starting off slow but picking up speed as it went.

 

They rose through the clouds, up into Tropos, past a shop they had yet to visit, past a small campsite no one ever used, past the Owl Temple. Otus shared an excited glance with his friends, but his gaze lingered on Solus.

 

His dream. The Owl Temple was so significant to him now, but he couldn’t begin to explain why that was to his friends. For a moment, he couldn’t grasp what was real; was he dreaming now and his dream was reality? Was his dream just another nightmare?

 

He shook himself from his thoughts at Solus’ concerned look, waving a hand reassuringly. He was quickly distracted by the bell again, and looked up to see Advent approaching.

 

They were all on the edge of their seats when they docked, and they were the first to disembark in their excitement. Otus was grabbed by the arm the second they got onto the docks, and was pulled to the elevator by Fib who was bouncing in excitement, her other hand latched onto Solus’ wrist. He was half complaining, but Otus could hear the amusement in his voice.

 

They rose up into Advent, which was bustling with activity as always. People roamed the streets, a few waiting around the dock area for people they knew. Many were shopping, bags in hands and chatting with each other. The place was as colorful and poster-filled as Otus knew it.

 

“Hey guys!” Geddy was waiting at the top of the elevator, waving to them as he lifted his goggles off his eyes. Otus waved excitedly. “Ready to go?”

 

“Yeah!” Fib and Bonacci almost instantly ran ahead, Geddy chuckling mildly as Otus and Solus took places on either side of him.

 

“I peeked in the new place as I was makin’ my way here,” Geddy explained. “Looks like a trinket place.” Otus perked up in excitement.

 

As Geddy continued to explain things he saw, though, Otus’ thoughts were pulled back to his dream. The lights of Advent as he was falling, too injured to even think of catching himself. Watching as the island crumbled like it was nothing under Molstrom.

 

His heart just about leapt from his throat as the sky began to darken. Geddy and the others paused, looking upwards.

 

“That’s weird,” Fib mumbled.

 

“Why’s it dark all of a sudden?” Bonacci questioned. Otus’ gaze moved to Geddy, then to Solus. Geddy was peering at the sky, while Solus looked just as confused as the other kids.

 

An explosion erupted from somewhere at the top of the city, and several people on the street- Fib included- screamed. As chaos broke out, people running every which way, Geddy grabbed Fib and Bonacci by the arms and pulled them along, Otus and Solus hot on his heels. They were lead to the school, pushed into the doorway as Geddy glanced up at the sky.

 

Ships began to fill the air as more explosions and gunfire tore through the air. Otus’ heart fell into his stomach.

 

“You four stay here,” Geddy instructed. “I’ll be back. Don’t. Move.” They were pushed inside before Geddy turned on his heel and took off towards the action. Otus reached out after him, but Fib shut the door before Otus could make after his green-clad friend.

 

“W-what’s happening?” Solus was shaking.

 

“I didn’t see,” Fib admitted. “I don’t like it. I _really_ don’t like it.”

 

Otus caught their attention with a hand. His hands made a little boat, moving forwards only slightly before he tapped a hand to his face, covering one eye. _Pirates_.

 

“Maker above, of _course_ it’s pirates,” Bonacci whined.

 

Another explosion shook the building, and they fell silent, listening. After a moment, they relaxed a touch, glancing between each other.

 

“I hope Geddy comes back soon,” Solus mumbled. “I feel safer with him around.”

 

“Me too,” Fib and Bonacci agreed simultaneously. Otus nodded as well.

 

They fell quiet, sitting on the floor of the lobby as they waited, trying to ignore the shouts and fighting outside. Bonacci was watching the windows, Fib drawing patterns on the wood floor. Otus stared at the door. Solus tried to hide in his cloak.

 

He didn't know how long it was before a familiar shout sounded outside. Otus didn’t think twice before pulling the door open, despite the others’ protests. Geddy was several yards away, wrestling with a pirate with a gun gripped in it's clawed hand. A shot rang out as the gun fired into the air, through an awning above them.

 

Without realizing it, Otus took off towards them, not even hearing shouts from the others as he tackled the pirate from the side, knocking it away. Geddy still gripped it's gun, turning and aiming it right at the pirate, shooting it before it could try anything else. He sighed, panting lightly.

 

“Thanks, Otus.” Geddy grinned, but Otus was distracted.

 

The awning was crumbling. The deck beneath it was following its lead. And it was beginning to fall.

 

Otus knocked Geddy away quickly, barely registering his shout of surprise before he was buried in dark.

 

* * *

 

_Mathematics never lies._

 

_It makes predictions._

 

_If you master mathematics sufficiently, you will find that you can make extraordinary predictions._

 

_The trajectory of a rock. The orbits of the stars._

 

_I learned those as a boy._

 

_Now, as my maths is better, the predictions I make are somewhat different._

 

_I predicted my own death to one of Aegolius's machines._

 

_Not once, but again and again in infinity._

 

_No matter how I adjusted the parameters, I saw my own death there as an eternal wave function, over and over._

 

_And applied correctly, I could see every death. Every life._

 

_Even a young owl named Otus, who dies in a great battle above a floating city._

 

_And yet, Otus, my maths tells me that you will be at this hologram._

 

_A strange inconsistency._

 

_... Perhaps our Hex Machine worked, after all._

**Author's Note:**

> hi guess what i've been thinking about advent way too much!!!!
> 
> so uhhhhhhh this was based on that weird scene at the end of the game after the anti hex stuff yknow and like. the talk of fib and bonacci supposedly being otus' friends along with solus was interesting....... but also noctae's spiel from the eternal sanctuary about how otus was supposed to die. soooo i combined em sorta kinda.
> 
> i dont even know which is supposed to be real n which is sposed to be the dream in this ok i just hit keys till i got this out of it
> 
> the stuff at the end is from the wiki https://owlboy.fandom.com/wiki/Noctae u can read the whole thing here


End file.
